one of the professional organizations i belong to – pet sitters international – does an annual survey of its members they call the “state of the industry” survey. i’ve never shared this information here before but i always find it pretty interesting and it’s helpful to me in gauging how i’m doing compared to the national average. here’s some of the most interesting bits, fyi:
Who are PSI pet sitters?
According to PSI’s 2014 survey, 98.3 percent of its pet-sitting businesses are independently owned—and the majority of businesses are owned by women: 82 percent, with an additional ten percent owned by a female/male team. Ninety-five percent indicated they carry pet-sitter liability insurance and 83 percent carry both liability insurance and bonding.
Additionally, these pet sitters have completed at least some college (90.2 percent), with 34 percent having obtained bachelor’s degrees and 14.8 percent obtaining graduate level degrees.
What pets are they caring for?
The 2014 survey found that PSI pet sitters offer services for a variety of pet species from Chihuahuas to chinchillas. While dogs and cats are the species pet-sitting services most commonly offer services for—96.5 percent and 94.7 percent respectively—more than half of the pet sitters responding to the survey also offer services for birds, fish and cage pets. Eighty-eight percent also indicated they provide pet-sitting services for special-needs pets.
Who is using professional pet sitters?
PSI’s survey found that the pet-sitting client demographic has changed little since the 2011 survey. On average, the typical pet-sitting client is a married couple between the ages of 36-50 (44 percent). Survey respondents indicated there are more married couples without children in the home (44 percent) than couples with children (32 percent) who use their services.
How’s business?
- The average annual revenue for 2013 was $49,380.
- The average number of clients was 107.
- The average number of pet-sitting assignments was 2,201.
And the big question…fees charged? According to the 2014 survey, here is the average duration and fee for the following services:
- Basic pet care: 32 minutes, $18.67
- Dog walking: 31 minutes, $18.23
- Overnight sits: 15 hours, $63.18
i’d like to point out that the national average cost for a half hour basic dog walking visit is approximately $18 and falls right in line with my sliding scale of $15-$20/half hour visit. and my overnight fee of $40-$50/night is a downright bargain! i will assure you though that i have a long way to go to attain that average annual revenue number – i sure wish i was making that much a year with this business!
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